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The Matz Family has played an important role in both Harlingen and Cameron County history. The following items document some of its contributions. Presentation About E.O. and Eleanor Matz To Harlingen Historical Preservation Society General Public Meeting Harlingen Public Library November 11, 2005 By James R. Matz 1 I’d like to begin by commending Mary – you and everybody else who is associated with the Harlingen Historical Preservation Society. What you do is something that is so really very important. I had a chance to visit with Rafael for a little bit while we were setting things up. That you are able to attract people like Rafael to become members of your group I think is really great. I also would like to congratulate you folks for what you did at the Harlingen Museum. We became aware of the Dia de los Muertos “the Day of the Dead” exhibits from Mary Lou. The exhibits were outstanding. I just hope that each year more and more people will come and have a chance to see those because it’s obvious that an awful lot time and effort went into what was done. I would like to mention that we have some friends of ours here today, Joan and Rod Olson. They spend four or five months up north where it’s a little bit cooler in the summer and then come down here in the winter time just like the ducks and the geese. So, we’re glad you’re here as well as Lynn Lerberg, their daughter. That having been said, I guess what I’d like to do today is talk a little bit about both Mom and Dad. To begin this, since it is Veteran’s Day, could we just have a moment of silence to remember all the men and women who have gone before and who are serving today and made it possible for us to live in this great country. Thank you. I’m going to begin this discussion of my mother by sharing with you part of the minutes from the Harlingen City Commission Meeting of June 3, 1987. QUOTE “Eleanor Matz told Mayor Card he had forgotten Citizen Communication. Citizen Communication is ordinarily the very first item on the agenda of a commission meeting, and evidently that had been overlooked.” (And here comes my Aunt Fern who was married to my Dad’s brother, Martin.. We are so glad you’re here.) “Eleanor said she had been waiting here all through the meeting to address the Commission. She came to thank the Commission for getting a job done and just found out it had not been done yet. She commented on the condition of Commerce Street, one of the main streets leading into Harlingen. She said it is a disgrace. There is a building at Fair Park that has three sides standing and rubble all inside it, something needs to be done on that. She told the Commission about calling City Hall to find out who owns it. There was a problem about the legal description as the Tax Office said there is no such block number. She noted the Harry Day parking lot downtown needs caring for. There are rusted pipes and it looks terrible. It needs sweeping. She said she has been talking to people, giving them instructions on how to get to the Cultural Arts Center by using the Library as a reference point. The old bicycle rack is terrible right there in front of the Library. She walked out of the Library with a lady from McAllen who commented she should see the McAllen Library. She said she is tired of the unfavorable comparison. Why can’t Harlingen shape up? Mrs. Matz said she is proud of the oak trees in town, but they need to be pruned. She had talked with the City Manager, Gavino Sotelo about the front of this building. He suggested getting someone who really knows what he is doing to care for the trees. She said she does that at Liberty Garden. Another thing is the city should write the Wendy’s people and get them to do something about their property. The grounds need attention. Mayor Card said he wished all the citizens of Harlingen were as conscientious as Mrs. Matz. He said a number of those things are in the range of private citizens. He agreed 2 with her about the bicycle rack, but the city does have a Library Board who has never made a recommendation. Commissioner Bonner said they have. Mayor Card said a lot of the property along North Commerce is private property. Mrs. Matz said some of it is also right of way. She said there are two dead palms on Commerce. She asked why a garbage truck driver could not jot down these things that need attention. That would be a good way for Ruben to know about these problems. Commissioner Vittitoe commented on Mrs. Matz’s diligence and said he appreciated her efforts. Mrs. Matz said she had talked with the City Manager, asking if someone bought the paint, could the city would do the work? Mayor Card thanked Mrs. Matz and said that lot would be cleaned up tomorrow. He asked for an executive session to discuss lease of property at Valley International Airport. Commissioner Vittitoe moved to go into executive session. Commissioner Menchaca seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Mayor Card recessed the meeting.” UNQUOTE That gives you a flavor of Mom. Now, if anybody here knew Mom they have at least one “Eleanor Matz” story, I’m sure because I still hear them. There was nothing that was sacred. Anything that she saw that needed some attention, she did not hesitate in bringing it to people’s attention. I see Blas Cantu is nodding his head also. So how did Eleanor Matz, who was born March 1, 1914, in West New York, New York, come to be a resident of the Rio Grande Valley? I guess it began with her mom and dad, Charles and Anna Frieda Ochsner, who immigrated from Switzerland, legally, through Ellis Island in about1910. They ended up in New Jersey living at Palisades on the Hudson where she attended Fort Lee High School. I have brought a number of pictures here. If you haven’t had a chance to look at them, maybe you would like to afterward. There is a picture of the home they left in Palisades and there’s a picture of the family - the father, mother, the three daughters Mom, Alice, and Frieda, and the dog, Teddy. In New Jersey Grandpa Ochsner had a lace factory and here are some pieces of lace that came from his factory. He also imported marble and did the finishing of the marble in New Jersey and sent it out from there. They moved to La Feria in 1929, the first year of the Great Depression . Here you have a picture of the Parker Mann Land Party. Land promoters like Parker Mann would bring folks in special train cars from the east coast and mid west to this area, they would show them the orchards with the fruit, convince them that money did grow on trees, and sell them a piece of property. Then it was up to them to fend for themselves. Mom graduated as Salutatorian from La Feria High School. Grandpa had a small orchard, but what he ended up doing was opening up a café in La Feria called The Snappy Café. There is a picture of that here as well. In 1932 the family moved from La Feria to Harlingen and opened the Swiss Chalet Restaurant. I don’t know if there is anyone here who remembers that, but it was located about where Boggus Ford was located on West Harrison before it moved out to the expressway. I’ve got some memories of the Swiss Chalet Restaurant, particularly going into the kitchen where Grandpa had a big round table. He would import Swiss cheese from Switzerland, the big 3 round, and he would cut it off slice by slice. Fern, I don’t know if there is any of this you are going to remember, but at some point, if there is something you think is important, don’t hesitate to speak up. The other thing that I remembered well about the Swiss Chalet Restaurant was in the back on the outside there was a beer garden just like you would find in Germany or Switzerland. As a kid, when I was five or six years old, Grandpa would ask me to sing “God Bless America” for the people who were there. That’s still a very strong memory. In addition to the restaurant, Grandpa Ochsner put in the first bowling alley, very small, but the first bowling alley I guess in all of South Texas. Grandma passed away in the late 60’s, he passed away in the late 40’s. Both of them are buried in Mont Meta cemetery. E.O. and Eleanor Matz married in 1937, had four children - Brant, Joyce, Susan and myself. There is a picture of a Christmas card that Mom and Dad put out every year so they could share with the community the fact that the family was growing in numbers and also just growing. Mom and Dad were from the very beginning, partners in their business. I guess you could probably say Mom was a very liberated kind of woman. She believed in being involved in exactly the same way anybody else would be in the business so she usually ended up handling the front end of the Matz Electric Gift and Radio store, while Dad handled the back part which was the electrical contracting business.

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